


A new day began around them

by AhWell



Series: Skimbledots fluff because I can't help myself [1]
Category: Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T. S. Eliot
Genre: Anthropomorphic Cats (Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber), F/M, Friends to Lovers, No beta readers, Writing this made me smile, idiots in love except they're not really idiots, mostly fluff I think, we die like men: in stupid and preventable accidents and without safety-precautions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:01:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29052555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AhWell/pseuds/AhWell
Summary: Jenny and Skimble were best friends first, secretly-crushing-on-each-other-since-forever-and-being-completely-oblivious-about-it second.A fic in which Jenny and Skimble realize their feelings for each other and Jellylorum is absolutely done with her friends' bs!
Relationships: Asparagus/Jellylorum (mentioned like twice) (Cats), Demeter/Munkustrap (mentioned like once) (Cats), Jennyanydots/Skimbleshanks (Cats), Mr. Mistoffelees/Rum Tum Tugger (mentioned like once) (Cats)
Series: Skimbledots fluff because I can't help myself [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2131419
Kudos: 9





	A new day began around them

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, gals, and non-binary pals! I had a lot of fun writing this, so I hope you'll enjoy it :))
> 
> Basically, I couldn't find enough Skimbledots fluff, so I decided to write some myself. Though I should probably say that there are three (3) quick mentions of alcohol and one (1) f-bomb, with 3 stand-ins for an f-bomb. Because apparently fowl language is ingrained into my brain, and I'm incorrigible. 
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment, no matter if you liked it or not - it gets a bit lonely out here. This fandom seems really nice and respectful, so I'm trusting you not to leave mean or disrespectful ones. 
> 
> Now, I welcome thee to accompany me on this fluffy journey!

Jenny and Skimble were best friends first, secretly-crushing-on-each-other-since-forever-and-being-completely-oblivious-about-it second.

Since they both worked the night shift, so to speak, they could only really meet at dawn and dusk - short, stolen moments they’d have before their humans started wondering where they were - and they wouldn’t want to waste any of that precious time on angstily contemplating possible feelings for each other (we will not be writing CATS-angst in this good Christian household, thank you very much).

Not that they felt anything other than the closest and warmest of friendship towards each other. Obviously. And if the rest of the Jellicle cats were half-convinced that they were married already, these lovely friends had no idea. They would simply “hang out” (as the kittens might put it), meet at Jenny’s for a quick chat and maybe a cup of tea she'd made earlier in the morning. Sometimes, usually during the cold months of the year, Jenny would even allow Skimble to lace it with some scotch. They would simply talk, sit on the front-steps of the house, share the cup and ask the same questions and gossip about the same things they had asked or gossiped about for nearly every sunrise and sunset for years.

“How were the passengers? Any trouble with the mice? If there is, you know where to send them.”

“That’s my Jenny, always willing to take on more students!”

At being called “his Jenny”, she would blush quite a bit (or whatever the anthropomorphic cat version of blushing was), having to fawn herself with a paw to cool her face down. She’d smile and playfully swat at him with the other paw.

“‘ _Your_ Jenny! ’ You cheek!”

She would react the very same way every time, and Skimble had found over the years that he quite liked that, being able to make her blush like that. That may or may not have been the reason he kept doing it. With a playful flash of those glas-green eyes and a small chuckle, he’d continue the conversation.

“Speaking of which, how are _your_ mice doing? And the cockroaches?”

“Their crocheting is really improving! It seems like their days of vandalism and delinquency are far behind them.”

To anyone who did not know Jennyanydots, this might have seemed like a rather bizarre statement. How did crocheting stop crimes? Luckily, Skimbleshanks knew his Jenny very well, and he understood her reasoning: if the mice and cockroaches had the skills necessary to get employment, they wouldn’t need to rely on crime to survive. So Jenny taught them what they needed in order to find a steady income and a safe place to live. Out of kindness she took the time and energy out of her night and taught them things to help improve their lives. It really wasn’t a very hard logic to follow, and it spoke of her good heart and sound mind. Helping these poor souls had never been something that was expected of her, and definitely not something she needed to do. She could just as well have just been exactly what her family thought she was: nothing more than a lazy old cat who did nothing but sleep all the time. She could have done the easy thing: nothing at all. But then she would not have been his Jenny, now would she? She did this out of the kindness of her heart, because she saw a solution to a problem no-one else would have bothered to try and solve. Skimbleshanks would think about this sometimes, during the long nights at the train, when all was quiet and the taste of tea reminded him of her. And he’d realize how criminally underrated Jennyanydots was by her human family. But that would put him in a foul mood, and he loved his job too much to let anger ruin the experience, so he tried to think of it as little as possible.

During these conversations, the air would seem to be made out of pure gold as the sun set or rose behind them, painting them both in a kind light that made them appear much younger. Jellylorum would often come and join them as well - she was the third member of the original trio after all. As kittens they had been inseparable, before Skimble was adopted by the train station and Jenny had found her purpose in trying to raise and make the poor mice and roaches into contributing members of society. Unlike her friends, Jelly had found her calling right there in the Junkyard: she took care of the tribe’s elderly cats, especially her father-in-law, Gus. But both she and Jenny took great interest in the kittens as well, watching them play lest they hurt themselves. And since none of the younger adults seemed overly worried about the kittens’ manners, the duty to teach them had fallen on Jenny and Jelly. Skimbleshanks didn’t have much time to relax either: patrolling the sleeping car on the train and making sure everything ran smoothly every night took its toll. Neither of them got enough sleep, and chastising each other about doing too much and not properly taking care of themselves were one of the trio’s favorite activities.

When Jelly came to these meetings at dusk and dawn, she brought with her knitting or crocheting needles and enough yarn for all three of them, and they’d sit in a little circle and smile at memories of when they were younger. They would laugh at Jelly’s celebrity crush on the older Gus, back when he was known as a truly supreme actor and was exceedingly handsome, and how awkward it had been when she instead became his daughter-in-law when she fell for his son: Asparagus Jr. And then Skimble would smile and shake his head and say something like:

“But what about Bustopher Jones then? I seem to recall you two fancying him quite a bit!”

At that, the queens would look up from their work and giggle while locking eyes, just like they used to do as kittens whenever Bustopher was mentioned. Jelly would choose her words carefully, before casting a meaningful glance at Jenny.

”Well, I’d say he’s still rather handsome.”

“You agree with her, Jenny? Don’t even try to deny it, I saw you _swoon_ over that flower he gave you at the last ball!”

”Can you blame me, Skimble? Over 25 pounds!”

Then she would sigh dreamily while fanning herself with a paw, and they’d laugh a little more. And Jelly would look between her two oldest and dearest friends and say something along the lines of:

“Look at us! Two old queens acting like the kittens around Rum Tum Tugger!”

This would make them all laugh again, and as soon as she caught her breath, Jenny would say something along the lines of:

“The younger generation’s Bustopher! Purely superficial attraction of course.”

At this, she and Skimbleshanks would smile more brightly at each other than before, both feeling oddly reassured by the statement, even though it really meant nothing at all.

They also quite enjoyed gossiping (though Jelly always insisted that it was terribly rude), especially about who was likely to end up with who. Jenny and Jelly were convinced that Demeter and Munkustrap had feelings for each other, and they all _knew_ that Tugger was absolutely _smitten_ with Mr. Mistoffelees.

Eventually, either the night workers shifts would start, or they had to go to bed after a good night's work. They’d laugh together one last time before Skimble left, waving his long brown tail goodbye: since he had to go all the way home to the railroad to either work or sleep, it was simply a more efficient usage of time if Jellylorum was the one to help with the possible dishes before the humans discovered them. And they were all for efficient usage of time.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The three of them would dance this dance, this beloved, home-y and familiar dance they all knew like the back of their paws, for years and years. The meetings weren’t identical per se, but similar enough to never warrant any surprises. That’s just what happened when you’d been best friends for your entire lives, and now you were growing old together.

That was, until Jenny realized something one night after such a meeting. She had been thinking of a certain someone with glass green eyes, and how they would light up whenever he laughed in a very charming way. She and Jellylorum had been doing the dishes when the realization struck her like a lightning bolt, and she very nearly dropped the teacup.

_Oh._

_Oh dear._

_Oh no no no._

A word that she wouldn’t have been caught dead uttering out loud filled her mind. It rhymed with duck.

“Are you alright, Jenny?”

Jellylorum gave her friend a worried look: Jenny looked like she might faint any minute.

Jenny’s voice was low and shaky as she put the teacup down.

“I think I might… have to sit down for a bit.”

Jelly had no choice but to rush over to help her friend sit down. She looked awfully weak. In an attempt to get rid of some nervous energy, Jenny reached for her crocheting, only to find that her paws shook too much. So she abandoned it and instead settled for resting her face in the shaking paws.

“I just realised something horrible. Something awful. I had thought I would be considered too old for this! At my age I should be spared _romantic drama_!”

She spat out the last words with disgust and exasperation.

With a voice that was full of confusion and laced with quite a bit of worry, Jelly sat down beside her friend.

“Pardon?”

Jenny groaned into her paws.

“You heard me perfectly well, Jelly.”

“Who, then?”

With the undignified voice of an embarrassed middle schooler admitting her white boy of the week to her best friend, Jenny said simply one name:

“Skimbleshanks.”

Perhaps it was for the best that Jenny had her face buried in her paws, because that meant that she couldn’t see Jellylorum’s facial expression. It was a very peculiar expression, filled with an understandable confusion - but also something more. Something that, bizzardly enough, looked almost like triumph. There seemed to be a quiet glimmer of ‘ Called it! ‘ or ‘ I told you so! ‘ deep in her eyes.

“Excuse me Jenny, but what do you mean ‘ you just realized ’? You’ve fancied him for ages!”

Baffled at the accusation, Jenny shot up straight and dropped her paws into her lap. Her voice seemed to go up by an octave, which for Jenny was quite high indeed, and with an uncharacteristic, almost whiney sound, she exclaimed:

“I have not !”

Knowing now that Jenny wasn’t about to drop at any moment, Jellylorum could allow herself to feel a little amused at her friend’s reaction.

“Don’t smile at me like that, Jelly! This is serious!”

“Oh poor thing, come here.”

Jelly reached over and hugged her, much like she would hug Gus when the memories of his glorious past became too much for him. Still somewhat shaken by the confession, she couldn’t help but ask again.

“This sort of carefree ignorance is something I might expect from Skimbleshanks, but not you, Jenny! You’re such a sensible queen. How on earth haven’t you noticed before?”

Said ‘ sensible queen ’ squealed like a kitten at the name of the object of her affections.

“Don’t say his name! Oh, this is terrible! I’ll never be able to have a proper conversation with him again!”

Remembering something Jelly had said earlier, Jenny left her friend’s embrace and forced herself to take a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to gather her wits.

“Jellylorum, what did you mean when you said ‘ for ages ’? How long, exactly, is ‘ ages ’?”

There was an uncertain silence.

“Jenny, you would say that the three of us have been the best of friends for a very long time, yes?”

The shorter queen nodded and narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, as if she knew that she wouldn’t like the answer she was to be given.

“I would.”

“Would you then believe me if I said, that the two of you have fancied each other since before Munkustrap could properly walk?”

Jenny looked like she was about to protest, before the meaning of Jelly’s words dawned on her.

“ ‘ The two of us ’? Oh, you don’t mean-”

Completely done with her dearest friends’ nonsense, Jelly lost her patience. It had to be forgiven though, considering how long she’d had to put up with it.

“Yes, I do mean. And the both of you are equally and entirely hopeless. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for the two of you to come to your senses and start acting like adults?”

“Hmf!”

Deeply offended by her friend’s snappish answer, and trying to look as dignified as she could (being _Jennyanydots_ , that meant really fucking dignified), she swatted a little at her friend’s ears.

“There’s no need to kick me when I’m down. Obviously, something needs to be done about this… situation. You don’t suppose he’s in the same position I was, do you?”

“Jenny, it’s called _tom_ foolery for a reason.”

Jenny sighed deeply, taking a moment to compose herself. Then she stood up and went to give the mice and roaches the night off before leaving the house. The family would be asleep by now, and the two friends had a very busy night to look forward to.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

As all that emotional turmoil was going on, Skimble had been making his way home to the railway station, and was just about to board the train. He was in a good mood tonight. Although truth be told, he almost always was. He was either doing something he loved, on his way to do something he loved, or asleep. When you, as Skimble did, lived a life doing what you loved, it could take quite a bit to make you lose your balance. 

The hours passed as the train chugged on, and since it was a calm night, he allowed his mind to wander as he patrolled the sleeping car. Skimble found that his thoughts kept being drawn to a particular subject. It was something Jenny used to say whenever the subject of Bustopher Jones came up. (And since he liked to tease her and Jelly about finding him handsome, that subject came up quite often. He especially liked to make Jenny giggle like the kitten she had once been, even if the giggles weren’t directed at him.) She used to say something about how her and Jelly’s attraction to Bustopher was completely superficial. And it wasn’t like he didn’t already know, he had known them for as long as any of them could remember after all, but hearing her say it still made him feel odd. Better. A bit like he was soaring, really. Or like when the Midnight Mail had to speed up to make it to all the stations on time after being delayed at a previous station, and they made it right on time to every stop. It felt… right, and like a small lump of stress and worry in his stomach had disappeared: the kind that was so small and unassuming that you really didn’t notice it until it was gone, and then you could finally relax.

There was something about that that didn’t quite add up, he knew. Sure, it could be great fun to embarrass Jelly as well (bringing up her previous celebrity-crush on her now father-in-law never failed to make him laugh), but it wasn’t the same as it was with Jennyanydots. There was just something about how much he enjoyed making her blush and giggle, and feeling like that when she confirmed that she wasn’t actually interested in Bustopher, that was a bit off.

There was a part of him, clearly the more sensible part, that thought asking Jelly for advice on the matter was probably the best thing to do. Asking for help whenever one found oneself in a bit of a pickle was an important part of friendship after all, and asking Jenny when she was the subject matter certainly wouldn’t do. But then there was this other part of him: the comfortable part. The one that he had been feeding for years by doing almost exclusively the things he loved. And that part sang a different song. That part said that there was no need to make such a fuss over something so trivial as liking to make a friend laugh. That part said that he was growing old and introspecting, and that he probably just needed to sleep.

And that was the wicked part of it all, because the fact of the matter was that he probably did need to sleep. He woke up extra early to go meet his friends, then he was awake all night - doing his job, and after that he proceeded to stay up a couple of hours more to meet his friends for the second time of the day. He only got a few hours of sleep before the evening would arrive, and the whole cycle started over again. He was sleep deprived, and it did muddle his thoughts - just not in the way Skimble imagined it did. While Jenny hadn’t known she had a puzzle to solve in the first place, Skimble struggled to put the pieces together. He had all the edge-pieces, and now it was only a matter of if he would bother to try and sort out the other pieces and find where they fit. And then of course, there was the matter of if he would like the end result.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Morning was approaching, and Jenny and Jelly (the dynamic duo) had been scheming all night. After much consideration, they had both agreed that being straight-forward about it all was the way to go. Honesty was the best policy after all, and if they hoped to teach their students anything, they had to lead by example.

Jelly made herself scarce right before sunrise to avoid third-wheeling. Polite people didn’t eavesdrop on conversations that weren't any of their business, but she was sure to gossip about it with some of the more responsible adults back at the Junkyard. Surely it wouldn’t really count as gossip anyways, because she couldn’t possibly lie to Asparagus. And Munkustrap, as their Protector, would want to know if members of the tribe were to leave the safety of their homes or the Junkyard. She was just being responsible, and it could not possibly be considered gossiping, right? Right!

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The moment he spotted Jenny, Skimble smiled and waved at her before letting out a big yawn. As he approached, Jenny felt her heart flutter in a familiar way she now recognized as infatuation. That yawn worried her a bit though. She would have to make sure he got enough sleep in the future, no matter how this conversation ended. Speaking of which, Skimble had made it up to the steps of her house by now, and she found that his eyes sparkled in the rising sun.

“No tea this morning?”

The sudden question caught her off-guard.

“Hmm? Oh no, it’s been a terribly busy night, I didn’t have the time.”

Her nerves had made her speak far too quickly, and realizing this only made her more nervous.

Skimble gave her a kind, slightly worried smile. “

It’s quite alright Jenny, no need to fret. You work too hard anyways, with all your students. You want some scotch instead? It could help you relax.”

Jenny only shook her head. _Best to get this over with as soon as possible._

“A certain cat, who did not wish to be named, has suggested that you might… oh I don’t know, fancy me?”

Skimbleshanks felt his eye twitch ever so slightly. So _that_ was what hadn't made sense about his feelings. _That_ was how all the puzzle pieces fit together. He fancied her. _Well sard_. It would indeed take a lot to make the railway cat loose his balance, but this most definitely did the trick. He blinked at her uncertainly a couple of times.

“… Was it Jelly?”

“I promised not to tell. Now, be a dear and tell me: is it true?”

Looking deeply uncomfortable, Skimbleshanks straightened his waistcoat, despite it not needing straightening. No matter how he chose to answer the question, it was sure to be an absolute train-wreck and bound to make everyone uncomfortable. _Sard_.

Seeing him so uncomfortable with the question was almost enough to make Jenny doubt Jellylorum’s observation skills, but she knew she had gone too far to back out now. She had to trust her friend’s judgement, and if it turned out that Jelly had been wrong, Jenny could always give her an earful later. Perhaps it could even become something for the three of them to laugh about together in the future, provided that their friendship survived this terrible ordeal. _Well, there’s no point in dragging it out._ Regretting that she had turned down the scotch, Jennyanydots plucked up her courage and cleared her throat.

“Because if it is true, I believe the only decent thing to do would be to take me out.”

Now to be fair, it was the end of a very long night, and Skimble had not been expecting the conversation to turn nearly this strange or intense when he left the railway earlier that morning, so it took him some time to process what on earth she was saying.

“Take you out?”

“Yes, dear. If it’s true, I think you should take me out. It’s the only proper thing to do.” H

e stared at her for a moment before recovering from the shock and pulling himself together. He couldn’t possibly miss this opportunity. With a flash of glass green eyes and a smile, Skimble offered her his arm, like a proper gentle-tom. With a look of surprise, Jenny took it. She hadn’t expected this to go nearly as well as it had.

“Well then, Jenny. Tell me, have I shown you around the train station lately?”

“No, dear, I don’t believe you have.”

And so Skimbleshanks and Jennyanydots, two no-longer-so-oblivious-and-secretly in love best friends, made their way through a sleepy London - arm in arm and smiling like idiots in love - as a new day began around them.

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all!! This was so much fun to write! 
> 
> I can't believe how long this one got (I think it was like 12 pages), initially it was just supposed to be a quick drabble!
> 
> Is this Skimbledots fic longer than most of my essays? Mayyyybeeeee…… Smh Jenny would be so disappointed at my lack of interest in my schoolwork. Or health for that matter - I’m writing this instead of sleeping, and it’s a school night. Being obsessed with CATS is all fun and games until you’re up at 2 AM writing your Skimbledots fanfic for the 12th night in a row.
> 
> (Edit: I took away the ship-shaming because I realized what a bitch it made me and I don't want to ruin anyone's fun. Y'all should ship whatever you like and not let anyone tell you differently. We don't always have to agree, but we have to respect each other. So yeah, hopefully this counts as character development lol)


End file.
